How much sleep should my newborn baby have?

Baby sleep advice

Some babies sleep much more than others. Some sleep for long periods, others in short bursts. Some soon sleep through the night and some don’t for a long time.

Your baby will have their own pattern of waking and sleeping, and it’s unlikely to be the same as other babies you know.

It’s also unlikely to fit in with your need for sleep. Try to sleep when your baby sleeps. If you’re breastfeeding, in the early weeks your baby is likely to doze off for short periods during a feed.

Carry on feeding until you think your baby has finished or until they’re fully asleep. This is a good opportunity to try to get a bit of rest yourself.

If you’re not sleeping at the same time as your baby, don’t worry about keeping the house silent while they sleep. It’s good to get your baby used to sleeping through a certain amount of noise.

How can I get my baby used to night and day being different?

It’s a good idea to teach your baby that night time is different to daytime from the start.

During the day, open curtains, play games and don't worry too much about everyday noises when they sleep.

At night, you might find it helpful to:

keep the lights down low

not talk much and keep your voice quiet

put your baby down as soon as they’ve been fed and changed

not change your baby unless they need it

not play with your baby

Soon, your baby will learn that night time is for sleeping.

Where should my baby sleep?

For the first six months your baby should be in the same room as you when they're asleep, both day and night. Particularly in the early weeks, you may find that your baby only falls asleep in your or your partner's arms, or when you're standing by the cot.

You can start getting your baby used to going to sleep without you comforting them by putting them down before they fall asleep or when they’ve just finished a feed.

It may be easier to do this once your baby starts to stay alert more frequently or for longer.

Is it important to have a routine for your baby from day one?

Newborn babies will sleep on and off throughout the day and night. It can be helpful to have a pattern, but you can always change the routine to suit your needs. For example, you could try waking your baby for a feed just before you go to bed in the hope that you’ll get a long sleep before they wake up again.

Establishing a baby bedtime routine

You may feel ready to introduce a bedtime routine when your baby is around three months old. Getting them into a simple, soothing bedtime routine can be helpful for everyone and can help prevent sleeping problems later on. It's also great one-to-one with your baby. The routine could consist of:

singing a lullaby or having a wind-up musical mobile that you can turn on when you've put your baby to bed

Leave your baby still awake, happy and relaxed in their cot and they will learn how to fall asleep on their own. Try to avoid getting them to sleep by rocking or cuddling them in your arms. If they get used to falling asleep in your arms, they may need nursing back to sleep if they wake up again.

As your child gets older, it can be helpful to keep to a similar bedtime routine. Too much excitement and stimulation just before bedtime can wake your child up again. Spend some time winding down and doing some calmer activities, like reading.

Avoid bedtime feasts for your baby

Leave a little time between your baby's feed and bedtime. If you feed your baby to sleep, feeding and going to sleep will become linked in your baby's mind. When they wake in the night, they'll want a feed to help them go back to sleep.

How much sleep is enough for a baby?

Just as with adults, babies’ and children’s sleep patterns vary. From birth, some babies need more sleep or less sleep than others. This list shows the average amount of sleep that babies and children need during a 24-hour period, including daytime naps.

Newborn sleep needs

Most newborn babies are asleep more than they are awake. Their total daily sleep varies, but can be from eight hours, up to 16-18 hours. Babies will wake during the night because they need to be fed. Being too hot or too cold can also disturb their sleep.

Sleep requirements at three to six months old

As your baby grows, they’ll need fewer night feeds and be able to sleep for longer. Some babies will sleep for eight hours or longer at night, but not all. By four months, they may be spending around twice as long sleeping at night as they do during the day.

Baby sleep at six to 12 months of age

For babies aged six months to a year night feeds may no longer be necessary, and some babies will sleep for up to 12 hours at night. Teething discomfort or hunger may wake some babies during the night.

Sleep requirements from 12 months

Babies will sleep for around 12-15 hours in total after their first birthday.

Two-year-old sleep needs

Most two-year-olds will sleep for 11-12 hours at night, with one or two naps in the daytime.

Sleep requirements for three- to four-year-olds

Most children aged three or four will need about 12 hours sleep, but this can range from 8 hours up to 14. Some young children will still need a nap during the day.

Coping with your baby's disturbed nights

Resist the urge to rush in if your baby murmurs in the night. Leave them for a few minutes and see if they settle on their own.

Having said that, newborn babies invariably wake up repeatedly in the night for the first few months and disturbed nights can be very hard to cope with.

If you have a partner, ask them to help. If you’re formula feeding, encourage your partner to share the feeds. If you’re breastfeeding, ask your partner to take over the early morning changing and dressing so that you can go back to sleep.

Once you’re into a good breastfeeding routine, your partner could occasionally give a bottle of expressed breast milk during the night. If you’re on your own, you could ask a friend or relative to stay for a few days so that you can sleep.

Baby sleep problems

All new babies change their patterns. Just when you think you have it sorted and you've all had a good night's sleep, the next night you might be up every two hours.

Be prepared to change routines as your baby grows and enters different stages. And remember, growth spurts, teething and illnesses can all affect how your baby sleeps.

If your baby is having problems sleeping or you need more advice about getting into a routine, speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor.

Blackkat said on 27 August 2014

I just wanted to point out that feeding a baby to sleep is a completely natural way to help your baby get to sleep. I fell into doing it with my daughter & stopped when she was a year old without any problems (although I continued to feed her to sleep in the night if that's what she needed) & will do the same for my 2nd baby if that's what he needs.

Anonymous said on 14 August 2014

What's not clear from this article is when exactly it is wise or useful to follow each advice. It says you may feel ready to introduce a routine at three months for part of it, but what about the rest? My baby's less than three months and I'm already doing some things that are against the advice, but am unsure whether I should change them yet as they don't come under the after three months section.

Jsaul said on 26 July 2014

These types of advices make people think that either they are doing something wrong, or that there is something wrong with their baby. All babies are different. Your advice may work well with a small percentage of children. It is unrealistic and potential unhealthy as it is likely to lead parents leave their babies to cry. Research shows that letting a baby cry can resort in developmental problems on future sleep and self confidence. You are a medical provider, it is your duty to inform correctly in accordance to latest research. It is not the only page where your advices are old fashioned or clearly not addressing the majority. Better not to interfere in parenting if you cannot provide a correct service.

IaHep said on 07 July 2013

I want to post this for other parents who may be giving birth in the summer or an ex-pat living in a hot country (like myself) who find the advice from various different sources to keep room temperature at 18C a bit worrying. I found this article helpful: http://sidsandkidswa.org/assets/info-statements/room-temperature.pdf. It explains that it is not so much the room temperature itself that is important as it is to dress baby appropriately for the room temperature. In fact, as I understand it, more incidences of SIDS occur during the winter than the summer due to the baby being dressed in too many layers. As long as baby is dressed lightly in the summer heat and sleeps on his back with head and face uncovered there is no extra risk for SIDS in hot weather.

kckeef said on 28 December 2012

We have a 13 week old baby girl, who we struggle to get into a bedtime sleep routine. She feeds before she goes to sleep, but the times are very varied..! Sometimes she will feed & decide she is not tired? But she will sleep through the night. Please help?! Thanks.

Coco123 said on 24 November 2012

I am due to have a baby next summer. The thing is that I live in italy where the summer is hot. The temperature is often around 30 inside. Please can you advise on keeping the baby cool? It would be impossible to keep it at 18 C but not everyone with a baby has aircon (I don't). Thanks in advance.